Damage to Syria’s heritage – 04 September 2017

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The Aleppo Project writes about the cuisine of Aleppo and the need to preserve this aspect of Syrian cultural heritage. “With up to 60% of the city destroyed, much of its heritage damaged, and many of its people driven into exile, there is a real danger that the centuries-old food heritage may well be lost.”
Read the full article on the Aleppo Project website here.

The DGAM participated in the 59th Damascus International Fair, where they showed pictures and information on the damage caused to archaeological sites, and the plan of action the DGAM followed for the rapid and systematic intervention at the sites and buildings affected, as well as their cooperation with international and local organisations concerned with the Syrian cultural heritage here.

The archaeological sites in the middle Euphrates valley have been documented in a post (8/5/ 2017) from ATPA (PDF here) and documented some of archaeological sites recently liberated by Syrian Democratic forces here.
There is also a report about archaeological sites in Al Hol area by ATPA  here.
Tell Badiri ,Tell Taban, and Tell Teninir have also been documented here.

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The Turkiye Diyanet Foundation has embarked on a mission to rebuild and renovate mosques, open Sharia education workshops and provide jobs for hundreds of people in newly liberated areas of Aleppo province.
Read more on Al-Monitor here.

The Turquoise Mountain Foundation has helped preserve Afghanistan’s heritage by supporting artisans and craftsmen. Now the foundation is trying to recreate its success by focusing on craftsmen from Syria, “which is also seeing ancient traditions threatened by an exodus of artisans.”
Read more on the New 18 website here.

Singaporean researchers are trying to build a new model that can effectively value heritage sites within the existing cultural framework. The model could be useful for any cultural heritage locations.
Read more on the City Lab website here.

• City of Asylum’s Jazz Poetry Month will include Syrian artists and is free to the public. 7 September – 1 October, 2017 in Pittsburgh, PA (USA). View a schedule on the Alphabet City website here.
• Work by Syrian artists was displayed at the International Calligraphy Exhibition in Islamabad. Read more on the International News website here.

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova has requested examination and reinforcement of Syrian World Heritage sites impacted by conflict.
Read more on Sputnik News here.

• US News reports on the technologies used to track cultural artifacts, and these options could be useful in Syria. Read more here.
• Tech Radar explains the challenges and future potentials of photogrammetry, a technique used to recreate and 3D print the Monumental Arch of Palmyra. Read more here.
• Global Voices examines the current conditions of some major Syrian cultural heritage sites. Read the article here.
• Politico writes about the growth of ‘small-dollar terrorism’ and funding from sources such as the trafficking of Syrian cultural objects. “As extremist attacks get cheaper, it’s time to find smarter ways to track and block the money behind them.” See here.
• USA Today provides further details on the Hobby Lobby case. “The arrest of five antiquities dealers who allegedly helped Hobby Lobby purchase illegally obtained ancient artifacts has shone a spotlight on the sale of antiquities in Israel and revived questions about the ethics of the trade in general.” Read more here.
• The New York Times writes about an unexpected consequence of the Grenfell Tower fire. After the fire, the Metropolitan Police’s transferred its art and antiques officers to the fire investigation team; as a result, London’s art trade is no longer supervised by specialist officers who could identify and prevent the trafficking of cultural objects. See more here.
• The New Jersey Herald reports on how Syrian refugees bring their heritage and cultural identifies to refugee camps. Read more online here.